The present invention relates to floatation boards, such as surf boards, paddle boards, and the like, and more particularly to a modular floatation board that may be disassembled for convenient transport and subsequently reassembled for use while maintaining a predetermined bending modulus. The bending modulus of the modular floatation board may be designed for a range from highly flexible to highly rigid. In the latter case, board rigidity may be designed to be equal or greater than typical solid one pierce board designs.
It is generally well known that currently available modular and/or inflatable boards are not rigid and flex or sink in the middle portion of the board, and hence the overall performance of such boards is generally unsatisfactory in calm waters. A rigid board is generally more desirable for use on flat water because it will track better and glide faster than a flexible board. A rigid board is also easier to balance on and less wobbly or unstable on surf and/or choppy waters. Rigid boards are generally preferred for use on lakes and the like where the water is relatively calm. On rough water and/or choppy water a rigid board may be less preferred because the board performance may feel “bumpy.”
Generally speaking, in rough water and/or waves a flexible board may provide better board performance because it may flex and absorb the impact from choppy waves as well as bend and flex to fit on a wave. On a flexible board, the natural rocker of a board changes during right/left rail to rail transitions. The rail to rail transition gives a board more rocker while facilitating turns resulting in a recoil snap and spring out of every turn, generally referred to in some circles as “flex and snap” energy. A rigid board generally makes turning in rough water more difficult, however, other factors in addition to the rocker or rocker line, such as rail shape, bottom profile, fin setup and volume size also affect board performance.
The prior art includes various modular or collapsible/foldable floatation board designs which provide for efficient transport or convenient carrying packages. The carrying package of such modular boards is generally minimized both in the overall length and the number of modular components to be transported. However, upon reassembly of such boards, generally weak regions exist that limit the load bearing capacity of the boards and/or create local regions in the boards subject to high shear stresses, and therefore flexing and/or bending at those regions may be significant.
Therefore, a need exists for a modular floatation board designed to flex a predetermined amount at a given load capacity, wherein the board's longitudinal bending moment is generally transmitted in a distributed manner from the front to rear of the board through a center module, rather than transmitting the bending moment in a concentrated localized manner, as is typically found in prior art modular boards.